Natural Antibiotic Production

Herchenroder, Lauren E.; Pratt, Alexander J.; Van Minos, Jordyn A.

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Natural Antibiotic Production

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As bacteria continue to evolve, several species have adopted increasingly advanced antibiotic-resistant qualities. These multi-drug resistant (MDR) bacteria pose a threat to the medical field where the invention of new antibiotics is constantly underway in efforts to plateau the effects of potentially dangerous bacteria.  Our Major Qualifying Project focuses on the production of antibiotics from isolated bacteria retrieved from select microenvironments found in soil. This research was conducted using samples collected from our group in 2019 and continued through the duration of our senior year. We determined the effects of our isolate’s antibiotic production capabilities using ESKAPE safe relatives and other safe relatives, noting inhibition against Mycobacterium smegmatis. We then attempted to identify the genus of our isolate using PCR to amplify the 16S rRNA gene. To confirm the genus of our isolate, we moved forward to a full genomic extraction. Subsequently, we attempted to isolate the proposed antibiotic-producing agent through organic extraction, followed by HPLC. We found clear separations through our organic solvents, and our HPLC runs produced multiple fractions that were used to test the success of our isolation. Ultimately, no clear signs of inhibition were recorded by these means, and we were unsuccessful in confirming the antibiotic capabilities of our isolate.

This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.

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